Brilliant.
What have we learnt from pre season so far?
- Thread starter Red Astaire
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Brilliant.
people keep saying that last night wasn't our first team but, bar sturridge, i don't think any of our absentees would have altered our level much.
No, it's always a moan if you post, because it's usually hyperbolic shite. Like "we've failed to sign a striker, no excuses that we've not been able to find one", while completely ignoring the fucking obvious facts that EVERYONE knows we've tried to sign at least two and Rodgers himself said yesterday that he needs to sign one.
Objection ! Conjecture your honour.
Lovren, Lallana and Sturridge would have changed us a lot mate.
who are they replacing?
Would take top 4 in a heartbeat i think this season is going to be a comedown a cup win would be good
It's the same every season mate, a few rumblings start in May, amazingly. Then by this time, it gathers momentum, and then reaches fever pitch in about a week.
I'd love to see the lowdown on transfer activity and money spent in, say, the last 10 years. I bet we're well up there. Yeah, I know we need a striker (ad nauseam), but we've tried genuinely to get two in Sanchez and Remy, while Rodgers said YESTERDAY that he knows we need to buy one.
We've got 7-8 players before we even sign a striker, to boost the team/squad overall, we've got an exciting young attack in Sturridge, Sterling, Coutinho, Ibe & Markovic. We've just bought one of the best centre backs in the league, we've addressed the issues of a lack of athleticism in midfield (Can/Lallana), we've brought in two fullbacks (near enough), we've added a winger and another attacking midfielder to the combined tune of about £40m.
Seriously, why the long faces? It does my bastard head in.
Optimistically I think we'll be competing for Champions League spots, but it could all very easily go very wrong this season.
The stakes are higher. Teams will defend better against us. We've got the Champions league to contend with. We've lost the best striker in the world.
My expectations see-saw from day to day.
The stakes are higher. Teams will defend better against us. We've got the Champions league to contend with. We've lost the best striker in the world.
My expectations see-saw from day to day.
Things that we've learnt :
Glen Johnson is winning this years scapegoat award hands down.
Although Rickie Lambert has shown he might step up to the scapegoat role - he remains the dark horse.
Daniel Agger has to work hard on his fitness if he's going to figure much in the final award.
I wouldn't rule Lucas & Joe Allen out yet, but they've been hampered by above average form.
Glen Johnson is winning this years scapegoat award hands down.
Although Rickie Lambert has shown he might step up to the scapegoat role - he remains the dark horse.
Daniel Agger has to work hard on his fitness if he's going to figure much in the final award.
I wouldn't rule Lucas & Joe Allen out yet, but they've been hampered by above average form.
Just for the record, I despise all of this "we want to finish top four" rubbish. I don't care if we lost Suarez or if our rivals went out and strengthened... we were a couple of points away last season, this season hasn't even started and we're talking like a bunch of fucking losers, conceding the season already. Fuck that... we should be going into the season talking about winning the League, not talking about becoming fucking Arsenal.
If we still had Suarez, that would definitely be the talk.
I enjoy the optimism and the sentiment, but it's ridiculous. Consolidating top 4 has to be the aim. We lost one of the best players on the planet and haven't really looked like we've replaced him. We still might, but we have a massive hole in our attack as it stands, and while our attacked bailed out our defence last season, we can't expect the same to happen again.
I can understand a call for some degree of patience given the circumstances, but I can't understand not being quite worried at this point. The reasons why we've failed to get our #1 and #2 target for a striker weren't in our control, and they don't deserve blame exactly, but the result is undeniably not looking great at this point, as for me we replace the most all-around influential player in the game with our bronze medalist. We seem to be playing much the same way we did last year, and now we are scrambling for a third choice alternative to contribute to fill the massive Suarez abyss in our attack. I think how we are set up to play could look woefully naive if we don't have the same lethality on the counter attack as we did last season, and Suarez was such a massive part of that that it can scarcely be overstated. If we "go again" with the same plan, but without the right tools, it could end up badly. We will remain easy to score against, systematically, in my opinion, regardless of personnel. Yes, IF our defenders are more competent, and IF we have credible fullbacks, we will mitigate some of this, but we leave space to commit people forward, and it puts a massive burden on individual defending. A large part of how we did so well last year was by holding our nerve gambling and committing men forward, as well as lightning quick counter attacks. We saw the momentum, fear, and fragility involved in such a system of play when things got tough last season, the same will be true if we no longer have the same amount of chance generation or conversion, especially on the counter, and we start drawing or losing games.
City fan club this way >>>>>>>>>>>
Although I agree with the general gist of the above your whole post comes over as extremely negative. It basically ignores the other work we have done; strengthening the defence to try to save 10 goals (50 compared to the Top 4 ave. of 38-40), and now being able to bring on the likes of Markovic, Can, Lambert or Skrtel compared to last season's Aspas, Moses or Cisshoko either from the bench or as cover when players are out injured. This will certainly make a difference to our 'game stamina'.
Actually I'd like to see stats ( waves to @King Binny ) on how many of our goals were scored on the counter by Suarez, Sturridge, Coutinho, Sterling etc. A breakdown would be interesting - because I believe we had an easy league leading 9 - even if that falls by 3-4 it's not unsalvageable by strengthening the defence and having more players contribute to the goals scored total.
We are looking to bring our 50 goals conceded down to the Top 4 ave. of 38-40. A back line of Flanno - Lovren - Sakho - Moreno should go a long way to achieving that, especially with strength in depth (Enrique, Manquillo - I'm assuming Johnson will be sold, and Skrtel as primary replacements).
I didn't see fear at any time in our campaign and we finished extremely strongly. I saw exasperation and frustration but never fear. With the addition of the creativity, pace and technical prowess of players such as Lallana & Markovic, the added power of Can to replace / supplement Henderson & Allen and at least 2 decent backup strikers (it is a certainty Rodgers will get in at least one more striker - Sky said he has mentioned 4 more additions though I'm assuming that includes Manquillo and Moreno) instead of Aspas .... there is marked improvement in the team as a whole even though Luis can never be replaced man for man.
Just to emphasise the progress in both the team and squad strength we have made (I've made no assumptions on which players will be kept in the squad and which will go out on loan though players such as Ilori, Coates, Peterson etc. are missing from the below) :
vs 2014/15
---------------------------------------- Ming
................................................(Jones)
Flanno ----------------------- Lovren ---------- Sakho ------------ Moreno (assumed)
(Johnson / Manquillo) ................(Skrtel/Toure) ...............(Enrique / Flanno / Johnson)
--------------------------------------- Gerrard
.......................................(Allen / Can / Lucas)
---------------- Henderson
............ (Can / Allen / Rossiter)
----------------------------------------------------- Coutinho
...................................................(Lallana / Sterling / Markovic)
---- Sterling ---------------------- Sturridge -------------------------- Lallana
(Markovic / Suso / Ibe) . (Lambert / A.N.Other)....(Sterling / Markovic / Coutinho / Ibe)
vs 2013/14 (primary based on appearances)
---------------------------------------- Ming
................................................(Jones)
Johnson ----------------------- Skrtel---------- Agger ------------ Flanno
(Flanno)................................ (Toure / Sakho) .................(Cisshoko)
--------------------------------------- Gerrard
................................................(Lucas)
---------------- Henderson
............... (Allen / Rossiter)
------------------------------------------- Coutinho
...............................................(Sterling /Texeira)
Sterling ---------------------- Sturridge -------------------------- Suarez
(Aspas).........................................................................(Moses)
vs 2014/15
---------------------------------------- Ming
................................................(Jones)
Flanno ----------------------- Lovren ---------- Sakho ------------ Moreno (assumed)
(Johnson / Manquillo) ................(Skrtel/Toure) ...............(Enrique / Flanno / Johnson)
--------------------------------------- Gerrard
.......................................(Allen / Can / Lucas)
---------------- Henderson
............ (Can / Allen / Rossiter)
----------------------------------------------------- Coutinho
...................................................(Lallana / Sterling / Markovic)
---- Sterling ---------------------- Sturridge -------------------------- Lallana
(Markovic / Suso / Ibe) . (Lambert / A.N.Other)....(Sterling / Markovic / Coutinho / Ibe)
vs 2013/14 (primary based on appearances)
---------------------------------------- Ming
................................................(Jones)
Johnson ----------------------- Skrtel---------- Agger ------------ Flanno
(Flanno)................................ (Toure / Sakho) .................(Cisshoko)
--------------------------------------- Gerrard
................................................(Lucas)
---------------- Henderson
............... (Allen / Rossiter)
------------------------------------------- Coutinho
...............................................(Sterling /Texeira)
Sterling ---------------------- Sturridge -------------------------- Suarez
(Aspas).........................................................................(Moses)
By playing Johnson more often maybe?
I appreciate losing Suarez is a big deal (as it would be for any team) but I think some are failing to factor in that he would have missed a quarter of the season anyway.
I think we should move on, it's Liverpool FC not Suarez FC.
We'll sign another striker who'll be good, we always do.
I think we should move on, it's Liverpool FC not Suarez FC.
We'll sign another striker who'll be good, we always do.
Considering that our options have been Remy and Bony, I think he's expecting more from Sterling.
Yeah I know he wants to buy another striker, that much is obvious, he seems to be encouraging Sterling into forward positions more and more and he's getting in the thick of the goals too.
Tony Barrett highlights the issues the Merseyside club need to address to improve on last season’s second-placed finish
Luis Suárez has not been fully replaced
Wisely, Liverpool recognised that there would be no like-for-like replacement for Suárez when the forward joined Barcelona last month and they have recruited several players in various positions to try to make up for his absence. The early signs are promising but they still lack a forward who provides at least some of the threat offered by the Uruguayan. If Daniel Sturridge could be relied upon to be available every week it would not be such a concern, but he has struggled for fitness in pre-season, hence Brendan Rodgers’s admission that signing a new forward is crucial.
Raheem Sterling is ready to be a star for club and country
In terms of team status, Sterling is emerging as the player most likely to become Liverpool’s new talisman in the wake of Suárez’s departure. Two years after Rodgers threatened to cut short Sterling’s involvement in a pre-season trip to the United States because of the player’s attitude issues, Sterling was Liverpool’s outstanding performer on their latest tour.
“I thought [Sterling] was outstanding and he was a real threat,” Rodgers said after Liverpool’s 3-1 defeat by Manchester United in Miami. “He is tactically aware for such a young player and he is so exciting to watch. When he runs at defenders he can create many opportunities. At 19, he is a real talent and he is getting better all the time.”
One weakness still needs addressing
After just one season at Anfield, Simon Mignolet has already reached the point where significant improvement is necessary if he is to establish himself as Liverpool’s first-choice goalkeeper. As a shot-stopper, there are no real worries about him, but it is the other elements of his game — particularly commanding his penalty area and communicating with his defence — that continue to give cause for concern.
Rodgers is hoping that Mignolet will develop sufficiently in those areas, but at the age of 26 it remains to be seen whether he will be able to do so.
Tottenham Hotspur’s mistakes have not been repeated
It has been the lazy assumption of the summer — because Liverpool have signed several players to make up for the loss of their best player, they are destined to repeat the mistakes made by Spurs after Gareth Bale left last August. The only similarity thus far is that Liverpool have looked for strength in numbers instead of seeking one or two top-class replacements to fill a significant void.
Other than that, Liverpool have kept to a strategy that has been developed by Rodgers in tandem with the club’s transfer committee. There has been no repeat of the dysfunctionality that characterised the approach of André Villas-Boas and Franco Baldini at Spurs, and the Liverpool manager has gone on record as saying that he will not have to work with any players he does not want.
Luis Suárez has not been fully replaced
Wisely, Liverpool recognised that there would be no like-for-like replacement for Suárez when the forward joined Barcelona last month and they have recruited several players in various positions to try to make up for his absence. The early signs are promising but they still lack a forward who provides at least some of the threat offered by the Uruguayan. If Daniel Sturridge could be relied upon to be available every week it would not be such a concern, but he has struggled for fitness in pre-season, hence Brendan Rodgers’s admission that signing a new forward is crucial.
Raheem Sterling is ready to be a star for club and country
In terms of team status, Sterling is emerging as the player most likely to become Liverpool’s new talisman in the wake of Suárez’s departure. Two years after Rodgers threatened to cut short Sterling’s involvement in a pre-season trip to the United States because of the player’s attitude issues, Sterling was Liverpool’s outstanding performer on their latest tour.
“I thought [Sterling] was outstanding and he was a real threat,” Rodgers said after Liverpool’s 3-1 defeat by Manchester United in Miami. “He is tactically aware for such a young player and he is so exciting to watch. When he runs at defenders he can create many opportunities. At 19, he is a real talent and he is getting better all the time.”
One weakness still needs addressing
After just one season at Anfield, Simon Mignolet has already reached the point where significant improvement is necessary if he is to establish himself as Liverpool’s first-choice goalkeeper. As a shot-stopper, there are no real worries about him, but it is the other elements of his game — particularly commanding his penalty area and communicating with his defence — that continue to give cause for concern.
Rodgers is hoping that Mignolet will develop sufficiently in those areas, but at the age of 26 it remains to be seen whether he will be able to do so.
Tottenham Hotspur’s mistakes have not been repeated
It has been the lazy assumption of the summer — because Liverpool have signed several players to make up for the loss of their best player, they are destined to repeat the mistakes made by Spurs after Gareth Bale left last August. The only similarity thus far is that Liverpool have looked for strength in numbers instead of seeking one or two top-class replacements to fill a significant void.
Other than that, Liverpool have kept to a strategy that has been developed by Rodgers in tandem with the club’s transfer committee. There has been no repeat of the dysfunctionality that characterised the approach of André Villas-Boas and Franco Baldini at Spurs, and the Liverpool manager has gone on record as saying that he will not have to work with any players he does not want.
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